Financial Advisor
Class VI Partners (formerly CapitalValue Advisors (“CVA”)) is pleased to announce that Fresca Foods, Inc. (Fresca) has acquired Open Road Snacks (Open Road), makers of Rocky Mountain Popcorn, Sinfully Thin popcorn, and Diego’s Chips. Class VI Partners acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Fresca in the transaction.
The acquisition will help accelerate the growth of Open Road’s products and expand Fresca’s portfolio of owned natural and organic food brands. Open Road, founded in Denver, Colorado, makes better-for-you and ethnically inspired ready-to-eat popcorn and chips. Open Road Snacks products are distributed throughout the United States and are available in more than 25,000 retail locations.
According to Nielsen, ready-to-eat popcorn has grown more than 15% in the past year and 100% since 2012. Product sales topped $1.5 billion in July 2016, up from $750 million just four years earlier. Fresca expects this growth to continue and for innovative companies like Open Road to remain leaders of the trend as consumers are increasingly seeking convenient snack foods that deliver great taste and better nutrition.
Open Road Snacks will become the second company in Fresca’s wholly owned subsidiary, Fresca Brands Innovation Group (Fresca Brands). It follows Sejoyia Foods, which joined Fresca Brands in October 2015. Sejoyia Foods makes Coco-Roons, rich, indulgent cookies made from simple superfood ingredients. Sejoyia was created by a grandmother who healed herself from a chronic health condition by changing the way she ate and used her journey to create a new kind of food company.
Fresca Brands partners with visionary entrepreneurs and builds innovative brands that make better tasting, healthier, and more environmentally responsible snack foods more accessible to more consumers.
Business Acquisition
The acquisition of Open Road Snacks represents the expansion of a partnership that began over six years ago when Fresca became a supply chain partner to Open Road, providing product development, sourcing, manufacturing, and logistics services for the brand. Co-Founder Karen Bradley and the Open Road Snacks sales team will join Fresca and stay focused on the growth of Rocky Mountain Popcorn, Sinfully Thin popcorn, and Diego’s Chips. They will be supported by expanded sales support, marketing, product innovation, finance, and back-office teams.
R&D, supply chain, and manufacturing have been and will continue to be provided by Fresca across its 320,000-square-foot pilot plant, manufacturing, and logistics centers. This continuity throughout the Open Road business ensures there will be no disruption in service provided to its customers.
“This partnership comes at an exciting time for Open Road. The brand has been experiencing explosive growth, and now as part of Fresca Brands, we have even more resources to keep up with the growing demand for our products. Fresca is a leader in the natural and organic industry and has a proven track record of accelerating brands into national, category-leading brands, which is why we have been so proud to work with them over the years. Personally, I am excited to spend more time building and deepening customer relationships, creating new products, and introducing our brand to new markets as part of the Fresca Brands family than we could possibly do on our own,” noted Karen Bradley, Co-Founder of Open Road.
“Our partnership with Karen and her team is consistent with our goal of increasing accessibility of snack foods that are good for our bodies and the planet,” said Liz Myslik, CEO of Fresca Brands and Chief Marketing Officer of Fresca. “By combining the expertise of both our teams, we see limitless potential for Open Road.”
About Fresca Foods, Inc.
Fresca started as Pasta Fresca in Boulder, Colorado, selling all-natural foods to retail customers and wholesale accounts more than 24 years ago. Over the past 13 years, Fresca has transformed from a small foodservice manufacturer into a paradigm-shifting natural foods company, operating its own natural food brands and serving as a supply chain and innovation partner to category leaders.
For more information about Fresca Foods, visit www.frescafoodsinc.com. For more information about Sejoyia Foods and Coco-Roons, visit www.sejoyia.com. For more information about Open Road Snacks, Rocky Mountain Popcorn, Sinfully Thin popcorn, and Diego’s Chips, visit www.openroadsnacks.com.
About Class VI Partners
Class VI provides middle-market investment banking services, including mergers and acquisitions advisory, corporate advisory, business valuation, and private capital raising services through its affiliate, Class VI Securities, LLC and Member FINRA. Class VI is also affiliated with and offers wealth management services through Class VI Family Office, LLC, a Registered Investment Advisor with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
Liz Myslik, CEO of Fresca Brands and CMO of Fresca, is a client of Class VI Partners and is not being compensated for sharing their opinion and experience with the firm. Any compensation creates a conflict of interest. Comments by Liz Myslik may not be representative of any other person’s experience with the firm and are no guarantee of future performance or success.
Additional Disclosures
Investment advisory services offered through Class VI Partners’ affiliate Class VI Family Office, LLC, a Registered Investment Adviser with the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission. Class VI Partners offers investment banking and private securities transactions through its affiliate, Class VI Securities, LLC. Class VI Securities, LLC is a registered broker/dealer and member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). Class VI Pathfinder, LLC provides general business consulting to privately held businesses. Collectively these entities are referred to herein as “Class VI”.
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